Americans will consume upwards of 2.4 billion chicken wings alone during the big game Sunday. If they are on your menu, you shouldn’t have a problem getting them as there is no shortage of wings but there may be some issues in the supply chain.
Michael Barton is the owner of Lincoln’s Wings and Rings and tells KLIN News, “We’ve been really lucky and haven’t been out of chicken. They have been able to sub products or find products for that meet the standards they have set for them so we have been extremely lucky.”
That hasn’t been the case with other items. Barton says, “We’ve been without of onion rings or out when we would get one case when we typically go through six or seven. With our brand name being Wings and Rings, we were out of the rings for a solid couple of months.” He says the customers were disappointed but understood the situation. They substituted where they could but it was difficult when it came to their signature menu items.
Barton says they also have had problems getting some of their paper products and other supplies due to shipment issues but have been able to substitute those items with no problem or inconvenience to customers.
Barton says they will be busy on Sunday. He says, “From a normal Sunday, we almost double our staff. It starts around 3 and then we kind of get hit at half-time with take-out orders.” Barton expects upwards of 300 take-out orders Sunday alone.
While there is no wing shortage, they may cost you an arm and a leg. USDA reports that wing prices are up 35-percent compared to one year ago.